Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, the last Sunday of Lent. It’s the day we remember Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey.
Jerusalem at this time was preparing for the Passover celebration, so it would have been teeming with both residents and pilgrims. News was abuzz of a rabbi who’d raised a man from the dead just days earlier. Could this be the man they’d been waiting for that would free them from Roman rule?
When Judas Maccabee led a revolt that restored the temple in Jerusalem less than two centuries earlier, the Judaeans celebrated their freedom by waving palm fronds. To them, the palms were a symbol of national power and pride. So when they greeted Jesus with cries of “Hosanna,” which means, “Save us!” and waved palms, they were anticipating a military savior.
I read conflicting accounts of what Jesus’s intent was as far as choosing a donkey. Some scholars say that kings commonly came home from a victorious battle on a donkey—a symbol that indicated there was nothing left to be done. Other scholars say this was Jesus rejecting the will of the people. They wanted a military leader—he chose the most humble of animals to enter the Holy City upon. Still others say he was simply fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9,
“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
No matter what he intended, it will soon become apparent that Jesus is not coming into Jerusalem as a military leader. And that will cause most, even those closest to him, to abandon him.
Today, many churches gather to wave palms to acknowledge this day (which will be later burnt for the ashes of next year’s Ash Wednesday).
As we look to Jesus today, it might be worth asking what we are approaching him for. Are we looking for things he never promised to provide—for power, riches, happiness, etc.? Or are we looking simply for him—his character, his goodness, his love, his grace, his unfailing kindness and compassion?